Study Arabic in Israel - Because Language Bridges Cultures and People

Learning Arabic, the fifth most spoken language on earth and one of six official UN languages, can be an extremely smart career move. Studying Arabic in Israel, in addition to offering a secure environment, has the added dimensions of providing countless real-world opportunities to practice the language and putting students in a position to make a meaningful, first-hand contribution to the Jews-Arabs conflict. Hence, the Arabic language programs put forth by the Givat Haviva Institute for advanced Arabic studies and Peace Education, offer the perfect setting for achieving all of the above.

There are countless good reasons to study Arabic, such as gaining access to a broad-range of job opportunities, touring to Arab-speaking areas with more confidence, and acquiring a basis for cultivating relationships with an astoundingly diverse set of people spread across the planet, and there is no better place to study the language, than Israel. Heres why:

Language is a tremendous tool to break the cultural barriers. By giving graduates the skill to participate in any number of interactions in the dialect used by Palestinians, Jordanian, Syrians, Lebanese, and other Levantine-Arabic speakers, they can venture into the Arabic speaking communities in their country and better understand and aide them, such as the case of graduates involved with assisting Syrian refugees in Europe.

By choosing to learn Arabic in Israel, the countrys second official language, students gain a deeper understanding of the dynamics of the regions nations, markets and religions, and Givat Haviva hopes they use it for grassroots peace movement and peace initiatives.

The Conflict in Full Context

Studying in Israel allows students to see the green line, the proximity of the borders in the Golan Heights, and the separation walls. Empowered with spoken Arabic, the reality of the Israeli landscape and access to the local Israeli Arabs, students gain a deeper understanding of the sides of conflict and the people who live with its reality every day, free from secondhand sources and mass-media sensationalism.

Israeli Experience: Israel stands out as being the most experienced country in the world to teach Arabic - and especially Spoken Arabic - as a second language. Arabic-as-a-second- language methodologies for matured learners - who approach the new language with an established language constructs, grammatical structure, and phonetic capabilities – have been developed, inspected, and honed for decades.

Exposure to Arab Israelis: 20% of Israeli population is identified as Arab-Israeli and around Givat Haviva, over 100,000 Muslim Arabs Israelis live in the little villages and towns of Waadi Ara. Visits with the flourishing Arab Israeli sector provide a unique opportunity to learn the Arab culture and to hear a different perspective than you might hear from mainstream media.

Givat Haviva's CampusGIvat Haviva Colab

Career Advancement: Knowledge of the Arabic language opens up a whole new sphere of job opportunities, in disciplines such as: journalism, intelligence and diplomacy, and working with Arabic-speaking refugees - all of which are not only helpful in climbing the career ladder, but to making a meaningful contribution to the peace process.

Security: From a practical point of view, particularly for Jewish students looking to study Arabic, Israel affords the highest degree of personal safety in the region, allowing students to focus on their studies.

Arabic at Givat Haviva

The programs offered by the Givat Haviva Institute for advanced Arabic studies and Peace Education stand out in stark contrast to other courses for a variety of reasons, including:

■ Well-established – 10 years of intensive Arabic studies for English speakers and 55 years overall. ■ Well-loved program attended, amongst others, by Ivy league students from Yale, Princeton and others. ■ Selection of programs and teaching levels to fit the needs and proficiency of different students, including:

- 4-month program – to gain an advanced understanding of the language. - 6-week program – an opportunity for beginners to become enamored with the language or, for advanced students to perfect their skills.

■ Additional benefits include: focus on the commonly used spoken Levantine dialect not only Modern Standard Arabic (MSA); Numerous teaching methods including a self-developed language lab and frontal learning; and Middle East history and conflict related classes.

There are many more advantages to studying at Givat Haviva, and we invite you to contact us to learn more about this unique opportunity to study Arabic in Israel www.arabicinisrael.org/hz

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Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.